Oakland – With the second phase of a massive California prisoner hunger strike in its third week, prisoners have begun to report grave medical issues. “Men are collapsing in their cells because they haven’t eaten in two weeks,” says a family member of a striker at Calipatria state prison, “I have been told that guards refuse to respond when called. This is clearly a medical emergency.” In an effort to isolate prisoners perceived by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to be leaders, some prisoners at Pelican Bay have been removed from the Security Housing Unit (SHU) to Administrative Segregation (Ad-Seg). The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition has received reports that prison officials have been attempting to freeze out strikers held in the Ad-Seg Unit at Pelican Bay, using the air conditioning system in conjunction with cold weather conditions where the prison is located. Last week a hunger striker in Pelican Bay was taken to a hospital in Oregon after he suffered a heart attack. Prisoners have also been denied medications, including prescriptions for high blood pressure.

The CDCR has been treating the current strike, which began on September 26th, as a mass disturbance and has refused negotiations. “The prisoners are saying that they are willing to take this to death if necessary to win their demands,” says Dorsey Nunn, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and a member of the mediation team working on behalf of the prisoners. “Any deaths that result from the men starving themselves will be on the hands of the CDCR. We are at a point were we are calling on the media to make inquiries on prison protocol if and when prisoners begin to die. If they want to avoid that kind of scenario, the CDCR can start negotiating.” Prisoners at Corcoran have stated “Due to what they have done here to us, some men have stopped drinking water completely, so we may well be close to death in a few days.”

Prisoners and advocates have expressed serious concerns about the state of medical care in Corcoran, Calipatria, Pelican Bay and Salinas Valley where the strike continues. Dr. Michael Sayre, who is the Chief Medical Officer at Pelican Bay was sued successfully by a prisoner in 2009 for knowingly disregarding his severe medical needs. In addition, Sayre was also investigated and disciplined surrounding the death of a prisoner in Washington State in 1992 during surgery. “The California Prison system is in federal receivership in part due to the substandard medical care provided inside,” says Terry Kupers, a member of the mediation team and an expert on prison health issues, “It is my professional opinion that the hunger strikers are not receiving the care that they need and that their conditions could be exacerbated by the CDCR, especially if force-feeding comes into play.” Force-feeding is a common practice used against prisoners who refuse to eat and can involve forcing a tube into the person’s stomach via the nose. The practice has been widely condemned as torture by hundreds of doctors worldwide.

This is absolute absurdity. This is “posturing” at it’s absolute lowest! These human beings simply want the world to know how crude this prison system is. Not only do these human beings have to worry about what’s being done to their minds, but they also have to worry about what happens to their food and their water. CDCR is waging war within by piting human beings against each other as if this was a “cock fight”. How dare a part of this “free world” government treat human beings so “inhumane”! Where is the world on this crisis? It’s too busy trying to fight the economic melt-down that is basically breading desperate individuals who are now subject to life behind bars which is controlled by CDCR who refuse to even come to the table for negotiations. Why such a “death-grip” on the incarcerated? That’s the best they can do is dismiss this hunger strike as “controlling gangs”? We have gangs running rampant all over this state because it’s gone unchecked for decades – but let’s make it the “gang’s” fault now. Who has let this mess evolve for decades by all the posturing by CDCR to shut our family members up from speaking out? I can’t sit by and watch this unfold without getting answers. I want to see these issues being made more public so that we all can see what is going on. All these “steps of justice” being tossed out there to create the illusion that they’re just “doing their job”. It’s more like “stepping all over justice”. Every day that goes by is a death trap for our incarcerated.

The Hunger Strike One Year Later-To celebrate the movement: The California prisoner hunger strike one year later “This is the third anniversary since we began using peaceful actions collectively to push for an end to the use of long-term solitary confinement. If we look back and remember before July 2011, we prisoners were alone, isolated, not being heard. We wrote […]

Update from Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, 4-28-2014-Greetings, This post is chock full of resources and various updates, downloads of recent newsletters, new media articles and PBS specials about solitary confinement, exciting upcoming events with Lynne Stewart, and information on our weekly meetings. Thanks to all the outcry about the recent cell raids in Corcoran SHU, we believe they have stopped, according […]

Video of Legislative Hearing February 11, 2014-Click on the image below for the California Channel recording of the February 11 Joint Informational Hearing on CDCRs Proposed New Policies on Inmate Segregation by the Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees, three-and-a-half-hour gavel to gavel coverage. And audio is also available: The following links are broadcast quality audio excerpts from the hearing. The […]

Transcript & video of CA Legislative Hearing Oct 9-Here is a link to the video of the Oct 9, 2013 Legislative Hearing on Solitary Confinement. Here is a link to the entire Transcript of the CA legislative hearing of October 9, 2013 (36 page PDF). And a link to some highlights (there were many) or “Takeaway Quotes” from the hearing (2 page PDF).

Still Hungry for Human Rights-As we wrap up 2013, we reflect on the amazing work that has taken place this year in the movement to end torture and abuse in California prisons. Since 2011, our coalition has been at the forefront of the solidarity movement to support the courageous hunger strikers. These prisoners endured a series of hunger strikes […]

The Legislative Hearing of Oct 9-Here are reports on the hearing conducted October 9 by the Joint Public Safety Committee of the California legislature, called by the co-chairs Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and Senator Loni Hancock. Hancock and Ammiano called the hearing in direct response to the hunger strike and have called for another hearing to be held in the next […]

Video from the Coalition of the Rally and Hearing, Sacramento, Oct. 9-A great short compilation of video from the rally and hearing at the California Capitol last week (October 9) has now been posted by Lucas Guilkey. Check it out on Youtube at: “SACRAMENTO: ABOLISH THE SHU TODAY!” (CA legislative hearing). In addition, Lucas has made available his raw footage: RALLY (playlist of 6 videos on […]

Official Video of the CA Legislative Hearing-Video of the hearing as recorded by the Capitol recording system can be viewed or downloaded at the California state channel archives: calchannel.com/recent-archive Look for the title “Joint Informational Hearing on Segregation Policies in California Prisons” dated October 9, 2013. It is just about four hours long, so it’s a very big file and takes […]